Home > Airport Information > Environmental > Recycling Program Overview
Recycling Program Overview
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has made strides in its waste handling
efforts through the implementation of a three-pronged approach – Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle.
Reduce
The first prong involves reducing the volume of waste being generated. H-JAIA has
reduced our waste generation from 70 tons per day to approximately 65 tons per day.
One program that has proven quite helpful in this effort involved changing our bathroom
tissue rolls to ones lacking a cylindrical cardboard center. Further, this has resulted
in a more complete consumption of each roll (less partially used rolls of toilet
paper are being removed from service).
Reuse
The second prong of Hartsfield-Jackson’s solid waste handling program involves the
reuse of materials. By reusing materials their disposal is avoided. If we further
examine our coreless toilet paper program, in particular the shipping mechanism
in which we receive the rolls, we have found a way to incorporate material reuse.
The cardboard boxes that used to hold many rolls of toilet paper have been replaced
with lightweight plastic bags. In addition to source reduction (less cardboard generated/used),
the plastic bags are used as trash bags. This has proven to be a very successful
approach for the reuse of materials at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Airport.
Recycle
The third prong of the Airport’s program involves the general public. The general
public participates in this portion of the program by simply depositing their waste
into any trash receptacle in the Airport. The GreenSortATL program eliminates the
need for separate containers to accommodate each type of material. Under the program,
all waste goes into the same container and is incorporated into a material recovery
process. The recovered recyclable material is sent for processing into new raw materials
and the non-recyclable material is sent to a landfill.
For passengers, recycling at the world’s busiest airport has never been easier.
And for travelers on the run, the ease of this program helps remove the unnecessary
stress of finding an appropriate recycling container. Simply by discarding all trash
into one of the many receptacles throughout the Airport, passengers are contributing
to the recycling effort and saving landfill space. The Airport’s businesses and
employees also utilize this same process.
About the Program
Atlanta Airlines Terminal Corporation (AATC) is a private sector management company
owned by Airlines servicing Hartsfield-Jackson for the sole purpose of managing
the Terminal and Concourses. One of their many roles is to procure and manage the
solid waste handling contract for the Terminal and Concourses. This contract is
held with another private sector company – Waste Pro USA.